For the second straight match
Valparaiso battled until the very end, but on
Sunday evening Kristen Goncalves scored with just 1:16 left in regulation to
lift Michigan
to a 2-1 victory over the Crusaders in front of a large crowd at Eastgate
Field.

Goncalves took a long ball
from Amanda Bowery on the other side of midfield and took advantage of a
Crusader defender slipping and falling, then beat goalkeeper Mele Cabral (Boulder, Colo./Fairview
H.S.) one-on-one for the match-winning tally.

The Crusaders scored quickly
to open the match for the second straight contest, giving the fans at Eastgate
Field something to cheer about. Jessie White (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo
Grove H.S.) won the end line to the left of the Wolverine goal and sent a cross
to the far side where freshman Rachel
Hoaglin (Lakeville, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels H.S.) raced in and headed
the ball past Kristen Keane to give Valpo a 1-0 lead just 6:04 into the
contest.

“That was just a fantastic
goal,” head coach John Marovich said
afterwards. “Hats off to Rachel. That’s a fantastic way to get your first
college goal.”

Michigan (1-1) tied the match at the 21:59 mark of the first
half scoring on an own goal. Amanda
Bowery sent a free kick into the center of the box which a Crusader defender
tried to head away, but unfortunately for the Brown and Gold, it deflected into
the back of the goal instead, knotting the score at one.

In an evenly matched first
half, the Crusaders went into intermission holding a 6-5 advantage on shot
attempts.

In the second half, the
Wolverines had more of the possession and scoring opportunities, but the Valpo
defense held strong. Cabral made two of
her three saves for the match in the final 45 minutes, but Goncalves took
advantage late to score the match-winning goal.

Michigan ended up with a 13-8 advantage in shot attempts, but
just a 5-4 edge on goal. Keane made
three stops as well for the visiting Wolverines.

“I want to personally thank
everyone that came out to support us today,” Marovich concluded with. “The crowd was incredible and we fed off of
it. We definitely gave them something to
cheer about with a great goal in the first half.”

Valparaiso (0-2) will look to bounce back on Friday evening as
the Crusaders close out the two-match homestand at Eastgate Field with a 4 p.m.
contest against Northern Illinois. The match will be carried live on WVUR
(95.1-FM, Valparaiso)
and online at www.valpoathletics.com.

Match Notes: Michigan
was the first Big Ten team to visit Eastgate Field since Purdue in 2000 … the
loss snapped Valpo’s streak of winning two consecutive home openers … Hoaglin’s
goal was her first collegiate tally … White’s assist was the seventh of her
career, just one shy of moving into the top-10 all-time at Valpo in helpers …
it was also White’s 21st career point … freshman Luisa Desario (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett
H.S.) made her first collegiate start.